Daily Business Report-May 10, 2016

Voter Registration Soars in San Diego County

New voters are younger, more diverse and more

Democratic-leaning than the overall electorate

With early voting beginning in the June 7 presidential primary election, the National University System Institute for Policy Research took a closer look at the local races and voter dynamics to watch for this election cycle in San Diego County.

Using data from the San Diego Registrar of Voters and Political Data Inc., the institute made a number of key findings:

• More than half (50-53percent) of all registered voters countywide will cast a ballot. High interest and enthusiasm in the presidential race, combined with local competitive races, will raise turnout on Election Day.

• Voter registration has soared since Jan.1. These new voters are decidedly younger, more diverse, and more Democratic-leaning than the overall San Diego electorate.

• New registrants may be a wild card in the San Diego City Attorney race. The roughly 57,000+ new San Diego City voters may play a deciding factor in the San Diego City Attorney race if the margin of vote between Attorney Gil Cabrera and Port Commissioner Rafael Castellanos is close.

Most of the key races this election cycle are located in the city of San Diego. The institute is tracking half a dozen major local races which may require a November runoff election between the top two vote-getters.

More than 50 percent of ballots will be cast absentee this election cycle. With younger voters and new voters comprising a larger share of the voting electorate, the rate of early voting will be significantly lower than in prior election cycles (65-73 percent).

“The presidential race is casting a shadow over local elections, despite the high probability that both the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries are effectively over,” said Senior Policy Analyst Vince Vasquez, author of the report. “In San Diego County, many of these new voters that have been added to the rolls fit the profile of Bernie Sanders supporters. There isn’t any evidence that their motivation is waning. It’s a good bet that they will be heard this election cycle.”

To download the full PDF report, click here.

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Voters Can Cast Ballots Now

in the June 7 Primary Election

Voters interested in casting their ballots early for the June 7 Presidential Primary Election can now do so at the County Registrar of Voters office located at 5600 Overland Ave. in Kearny Mesa.

Early voting began Monday and will continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The office will also be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5 for weekend voting.

Approximately 900,000 mail ballots were sent out through the post office Monday and voters could find them in their mailboxes as soon as Tuesday. Voters who requested them are urged to act on them right away.

“If you know how you want to vote, grab that mail ballot when you get it, vote it and send it back in right away,” said Registrar Michael Vu. “The sooner we get the ballot back, the sooner we can start processing it so it will be counted right when the polls close at 8 p.m. on June 7.”

Mail ballots are convenient for voters who’d rather not make a special trip to the Registrar of Voter’s office to cast their ballots or wait for the polls to open on Election Day. Registered voters can request a mail ballot until May 31.

Meantime, the Registrar is still looking for poll workers especially bilingual poll workers. For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or visit sdvote.com.

 

State to Reopen $4.7 Billion

San Onofre Ratepayer Deal

Times of San Diego

Residents and businesses may not have to pay $3.3 billion to shut down San Onofre after all. Local utility customers had been facing 70 percent of the N-plant’s $4.7 billion closure costs.

The state Public Utilities Commission announced Monday that a 2014 agreement that apportioned financial responsibilities for the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in northern San Diego County will be reconsidered.

“This is a huge breakthrough that we have been hoping for since November 2014,” said Ray Lutz of  Citizens’ Oversight Projects. “Now the ratepayers have their ‘day in court’ regarding this tainted settlement agreement, which was preconceived by former CPUC President (Michael) Peevey in his meeting with (Southern California Edison) in Warsaw, Poland.”

Lutz said the big question is whether the PUC’s action is just an effort to settle all joint rehearing requests, “as well as the various petitions for modification of the ruling, or is it going to be an honest inquiry into the substance of the case?”

He said an inquiry into the shutdown was halted as soon as the settlement agreement was proposed, including a phase that was to determine the cause of the failure of the steam generators.

“From the information we have been able to get at this time,” Lutz said, “it seems SCE was well aware of the design issues way back in 2005/6.”

The agency, in a joint ruling by Commissioner Catherine Sandoval and Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey, called for interested parties to submit comments on the multibillion-dollar settlement.

Consumer advocates, including two organizations that signed the original agreement, have called for it to be overturned since it was revealed that former CPUC Commissioner Peevey had undisclosed conversations with executives of the plant’s operator and majority owner, Southern California Edison, on settlement terms. Peevey later resigned.

The CPUC fined Edison $16.7 million late last year despite denials by the Rosemead-based utility that violations occurred.

“In light of our December 2015 penalty levied against Edison for failing to disclose ex parte communications relevant to this proceeding, it is prudent to review whether the settlement reached before those disclosures remains in the public interest and in accordance with our settlement rules,” said Sandoval, who is now overseeing the San Onofre issue. “It is important to reopen the record and hear from the parties through their filings in the CPUC’s proceeding.”

Signatories The Utility Reform Network and Office of Ratepayer Advocates, a state agency — both called for the deal to be overturned last summer.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a statement issued by majority plant owner Southern California Edison saying that company officials are reviewing the commission ruling, “but Edison nonetheless stands by the 2014 deal resolving costs related to closing the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.”

“SCE continues to believe the SONGS settlement remains in the public interest,” the statement said.

The nuclear plant on the northern San Diego County coastline hasn’t operated since a small, non-injury leak occurred in one of its two reactors in January 2012. An investigation fixed blame on improperly designed steam generators manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan.

Edison later decided to retire the reactors rather than pursue a costly restart process. The settlement was subsequently reached to apportion various shutdown costs between the utilities and ratepayers.

The CPUC called for Edison to file a summary of the agreement and a status report on implementation; and to specify and quantify accounting and rate-making actions taken so far, and planned actions for this and future years, by June 2.

The parties have until July 7 to file briefs on whether the deal meets CPUC standards for approving settlements.

Two weeks later, the parties can file responses and procedural recommendations.

In a statement released Monday night, Maria Severson of the law firm Aguirre & Severson said: “We are hopeful that ratepayers will get the full attention of the commission this time, and that the commission will look into the failure at San Onofre with fresh eyes. Ratepayers  must not be held accountable for mistakes that should have been paid for by Edison’s management and investors.”

Aguirre said: ”Utility rates are supposed to be set publicly in public hearings and not in secret in Polish hotel rooms,” says. He called the order reopening the San Onofre investigation a step in the right direction.

Charles Langley of Public Watchdogs said that under the old settlement, the average Southern California Edison and SDG&E ratepayer would have been “forced to pay an average of $1,635 per meter.”

— City News Service contributed to this report.

 

UC San Diego Health Named Among

Top Hospitals in America for 2016

UC San Diego Health has been named by Becker’s Hospital Review to its 2016 list of “100 Great Hospitals in America.” The list is based on rankings and awards from reputable sources, such as Healthgrades, The Leapfrog Group, and U.S. News & World Report. The list honors 100 hospitals considered health care leaders in their region, state or the nation.

According to Becker’s, the list represents hospitals with a strong history of medical innovation, top-notch care for patients, or clinical advancements with forward-thinking research.

In 2016, Healthgrades awarded UC San Diego Health its Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, placing it among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals delivering superior care to the Medicare population based on clinical outcomes. Additionally, both UC San Diego Health campuses recently received a hospital safety score of A, the highest level of recognition from the Leapfrog Group.

In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC San Diego Health in 12 of 16 adult specialties, placing it among the top 50 hospitals nationally. In the same year, UC San Diego Health was named one of the nation’s top 100 Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics. Out of nearly 3,000 hospitals, the study identified the top hospitals that score highest on patient care, operational efficiency and financial stability.

 

The results are in.  SD METRO Magazine’s list of Best Doctors ® – San Diego is coming in the July issue of the magazine. The list will provide access to the best medical minds in the community. You can be sure you’re getting the right diagnosis, the right treatment, and the right care from the innovative professionals.

Gallup has audited and certified Best Doctors, Inc.’s database of physicians and its companion The Best Doctors in America List as using the highest industry standards survey methodology and processes.

These lists are excerpted from The Best Doctors in America  2015-2016 database, which includes over 40,000 U.S. doctors in more than 40

medical specialties and 400 subspecialties. The Best Doctors in America database is compiled and maintained by Best Doctors Inc.

SD METRO is proud to present San Diego’s Best Doctors in our July issue.